Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.ipc-ealing.co.uk/sermons/89774/ephesians-111-14/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] яя Thank you. [1:00] Thank you. [1:30] Thank you. [2:00] Thank you. [2:30] Thank you. [3:00] Thank you. [3:30] Thank you. [4:00] Thank you. [4:30] Thank you. [5:00] Thank you. [5:30] Thank you. [6:00] Thank you. [6:30] Thank you. [6:59] Thank you. [7:29] Thank you. [7:59] Thank you. [8:29] Thank you. [8:59] Thank you. [9:29] Thank you. [9:59] Thank you. [10:29] Thank you. [10:59] Thank you. [11:29] Thank you. [11:59] Thank you. [12:29] Thank you. [12:59] Thank you. [13:29] Thank you. [13:59] Thank you. [14:29] Thank you. [14:59] Thank you. [15:29] Amen. [15:59] Thank you. [16:29] Thank you. [16:59] Thank you. [17:29] Thank you. [17:59] Thank you. [18:29] Thank you. [18:59] Thank you. [19:29] Thank you. [19:59] Thank you. [20:29] Thank you. [20:59] Thank you. [21:29] Thank you. [21:59] Thank you. [22:29] Thank you. [22:59] Amen. [23:29] Let's stand and sing. [23:59] Thank you. [24:29] Thank you. [24:59] Thank you. [25:29] Thank you. [25:59] Thank you. [26:29] Thank you. [26:59] One church. [27:29] Thank you. [27:59] Thank you. [28:29] Thank you. [28:59] Thank you. [29:29] Thank you. [29:59] Thank you. [30:29] Thank you. [30:59] Thank you. [31:29] Thank you. [31:59] Thank you. [32:29] Thank you. [32:59] Thank you. [33:29] Thank you. [33:59] Thank you. [34:29] Thank you. [34:59] Thank you. [35:29] Thank you. [35:59] Thank you. [36:29] Thank you. [36:59] Thank you. [37:29] Thank you. [37:59] Thank you. [38:29] Thank you. [38:59] Amen. Thank you. [39:59] Thank you. [40:29] Thank you. [40:59] Thank you. [41:29] Thank you. [41:59] Thank you. [42:29] Thank you. [42:59] Thank you. [43:29] Thank you. [43:59] Thank you. [44:29] Thank you. [44:59] Thank you. [45:29] Thank you. [45:59] Thank you. [46:29] Thank you. [46:59] Thank you. [47:29] Thank you. [47:59] Thank you. [48:29] Thank you. [48:59] Thank you. [49:29] Thank you. [49:59] Thank you. [50:29] Thank you. [50:59] We're in the and we're in the and we're in the in the and we're waiting for the that is our inheritance. [53:59] face forever. [54:29] We have redemption. We're waiting for our inheritance. [55:29] If you're satisfied. [55:59] and you're in the and we're in the there's a team. [56:59] and if you're sitting in this waiting room and you're tired and you're weary and you think that there's no end hear this there is an end and it's so worth it you have an inheritance and it is glorious and you will look back on this life at the end of time you will look back on this waiting room and you will think that was so worth it that was so worth it I'm glad I made it to the end but when you're waiting for something when you're waiting for the inheritance it can feel like it's never coming and how do we know it's coming how can we be sure of what lies ahead of us well Paul spends the rest of this passage assuring us of what's coming but he doesn't tell us to look forward he tells us to look back at what God has done he says we can be sure of what's coming because God has predestined us and this is my next point we have been predestined we have been predestined so look to verse 11 again in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will we're in Christ and we have this inheritance because we've been predestined now we saw this word a few weeks ago so it's a bit of a big word isn't it predestined it just means [58:34] God writes the ending of your story before your story's even begun God writes the end of your story before your story's even begun and so God has chosen his people from eternity past and written their ending saying they will receive an inheritance and there's no other ending it has to happen this way and it will happen this way for those in Christ God has written your ending saying they will be mine and they will be with me for all eternity and you can have no other ending because look what else Paul says here we're predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will so God not only writes our ending he works all things to make it happen he's the one who works all things did you see that? [59:37] he works all things now this is a profound truth about God Paul is saying God works all things God controls and has his hand on all things so not just some things not just a lot of things God works all things according to the purpose of his will that means God has his hand over creation right now and is in charge of every single part of it God controls the movement of the earth around the sun he controls every global event in this world he controls every moment of your life even every atom in the air not a single thing can happen unless God decides it and says it can happen he's working in this room right now you know the kids song? [60:39] it's a great song he's got the whole world in his hands that's not just a kids song that kids can sing that is a profound truth God has the whole world in his hands look what else Paul says it's all he says all this working is according to the counsel of his will now counsel just means advice you might say I'm seeking counsel from someone which means you're seeking their advice but who does God seek advice from? [61:11] well he says he works all things according to the counsel of his will he looks to his will he looks to himself when working all of this and planning all this he looks to no one else he relies on nothing else this means God has when God has decided to do something to give you an inheritance to unite you to Christ and bring you to that final inheritance Paul is saying he makes it happen nothing can stand in his way he doesn't look to sin and think oh no I didn't know about that I need to change my plan now no he doesn't look to the devil and think oh I didn't see that coming okay I need to work something else out now and he doesn't look at you and say oh I know I chose them but look at them look what they've done or look how they're feeling I don't think they're going to make it to the finish no [62:15] God works all things he makes it happen he works all things according to the counsel of his will so that you will receive this inheritance he brings you to the end so just look to verse 12 he works all things so that we who were the first time in Christ might be to the praise of his glory so he doesn't just work all things so that he can just say I'm in control of all things he doesn't just do things aimlessly he has something particular at the centre of all he does he works out all things he works all things out so that we might be to the praise of his glory he works all things out with us the church in mind so that we will reach the finish line and receive our inheritance and praise and glorify God on that last day God is crafting history so that you will make it to the end now it may be that God does things in your life that you can't understand why like you think how is this helping me get to the end why is God doing this or why did God do that and in those times we need great faith and humility because we can't understand why God does everything it doesn't always make sense to us but it's very clear here what has God told us everything in our lives is planned by God to bring me to that end and so we can say in those moments even if I don't understand it even if this is painful [64:06] I know that this is for my good and this is God bringing me to my inheritance he's working all things in your life to bring you there and when we get there at the end of time we can look back on our lives in the waiting room and we will see ah yes that was all for my good that was all for God's glory he really did bring me to my inheritance and that's what Paul is showing us behind the scenes here that God is working right now in every moment of our lives but the question remains how do I know I'm one of those who God is bringing to the end maybe you've thought that how do I know if I have this inheritance well this is my final point we have been sealed we have been sealed look to verse 13 with me in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit [65:17] Paul says that we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit now what does that mean well a seal is something you might see on the back of a letter so a king can't write a letter to someone and then you put wax on the back have you ever seen that wax on the back and it closes up the letter and then he would stamp his personalised royal stamp on the wax and it kind of engraves on the wax and you see his royal marking on it well that royal marking on the back of the letter that's his royal seal so not kind of like walruses and penguins not that type of seal a seal is like a marking it's a distinctive marking that letter has been sealed by the king and what does that seal do? [66:05] well it shows that that letter is authentic it's the real deal it's not some sort of scam this really is a letter from the king and it also shows that this letter is special it shows that this isn't any old letter this is different from all other letters this is a royal letter how can you tell? [66:26] well look at it's sealed you can see it it's been sealed well Paul says we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit so we don't have a wax stamp on us but Paul says we've been stamped with the Holy Spirit when God saves you and unites you to Christ God gives you something well actually he gives you someone he gives you his Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit permanently marks you the Holy Spirit dwells in us and says this person is authentic this is one of God's people this is the real deal he says you are special and you've been set apart by God and you will receive an inheritance so look at verse 14 verse 14 the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance now here's another big word quite a few big words today a guarantee is like a down payment or a deposit so if you buy a house you usually don't pay the money straight away you normally pay a small amount first and that small amount that you pay first that's the down payment or the guarantee and that guarantee says don't worry more is coming more money is on its way you're going to get the full amount later [67:53] I'm just giving you this first bit now as a promise to show that I'm going to pay the full amount later well the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee saying I will give you the Holy Spirit now and that is the promise to guarantee that your inheritance is coming don't worry God says more is coming on the way and so this means a true believer can never lose their salvation when God chooses someone he saves them and when he saves them he seals them and when he seals them 100% 100% guarantees they will inherit eternal life truly they can never lose their salvation and so when did he give us the Holy Spirit when were we sealed in verse 13 you can see it in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed by the promised Holy Spirit if you've heard the gospel preached and you believe it you trust in the Lord Jesus and love him then you have been sealed hearing and believing means sealing now we can't always pinpoint when that first happens some people have a clear memory in their heads of when they were converted and they can kind of pinpoint it or or maybe that's not you maybe you grew up in a Christian home and you've just you've always believed or you just can never pinpoint at any point like that well whatever it was you may or may not know when you first believed but what we can know is that if we believe if we believe now then there was a first time you believed if you look to the Lord Jesus now you know that there was a first time you believed and when you did you were sealed with the Holy Spirit your salvation was locked in forever and your inheritance was guaranteed and if you're still thinking oh but is that me what if I fall away what if I don't last to the end well can I encourage you can I encourage you not to think in that way the Bible never gets us to look to our future and to look into ourselves and to doubt our salvation and to think and to rely on ourselves because if we do that that just takes our eyes off Jesus and we start to just look at ourselves and rely on our own strength no the Bible makes us look back to assure us what God has already done he's united you to Christ he's predestined you he's sealed you so believe in the Lord [71:02] Jesus now and know in him you are sealed forever and your inheritance is coming for those in Christ you can never be lost Christ will never lose you the end of your story is written and there's an inheritance at that ending this is what lies behind the scenes of us here today as we open up the curtains it's the ending of our story and we can see that it's all planned and sealed and secured by God your ending is already written and a glorious eternal treasure is waiting for you let me pray Lord God we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ and we thank you that we are in Christ and in him is every spiritual blessing and we thank you for our inheritance that is waiting for us and we pray that you strengthen us and keep us looking to the Lord [72:11] Jesus give us strength when we are weary and keep our eyes on the hope and the glory to come we long for our inheritance and we long for the Lord Jesus in his name we pray Amen we will respond to God by singing all mercy my God in a theme of my song the joy of my God of my soul of my soul is [73:47] Let open the channel of mercy for me. Your mercy is more than a match for my heart. [74:05] Great wonders to fill it so proud as we bow. The door has your goodness, my Lord, to the ground. [74:20] And ring to the praise of the mercy I come. The door of your mercy stands open to all. [74:37] The poor and the needy, whoever shall go. No sinner who's come singing mercy today. [74:52] Is that the by Jesus sent empty away? Bring thou the whole mercy to whom it's all. [75:08] And thou the land of all who first in my sight. O praise to the spirit whose whisper divine. [75:24] Sills blessing and pardon and righteousness die. People of God, receive the blessing by faith of our God too. [75:40] The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his confidence upon you and give you peace. Amen. [75:50] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.